Business owner beware: Securing your domain name can be tricky and costly

Update (Oct. 11, 2013): Global News was contacted by Debra Novack, Braverman’s former business partner and owner of LOL Candy.

Novack said that Braverman was not the founder of the orgininal “Candy Table in a Box,” explaining that the service was started as and continues to be an extension of her business LOL Candy.

“It’s really sad when someone takes advantage of an opportunity and claims ownership of something that was never theirs in the first place,” said Novack in a statement to Global News.

“I have worked very hard over the past 4 years developing a reputable business and a trusted name in the event industry.  It’s a small network of professionals wherein good relationships are the key to success.  I am very supportive of my peers and would usually never say anything that could negatively affect their business.  Unfortunately, in this case I felt that I was left with no choice but to defend myself.”

Novack explained that she let Braverman use the domain because of their friendship; however she said because “Candy Table in a Box” was started as an extension of her business and was her idea originally she will continue to own the domain.

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TORONTO – As the digital universe expands, users are snapping up their own small section of the web by purchasing domains. But in the case of a dispute, choices are limited.

Some web users are known to purchase domain names that they think will likely be linked to businesses, organizations or individuals in order to demand high prices for the domain when that individual or business wants to buy the name back – a practice known as “cybersquatting.”

Microsoft just recently struggled with a very public battle for the domain names for its Xbox One platform. When the tech giant announced the new entertainment system in May, the company did not own the domain names for XboxOne.com or XboxOne.net.

But, after filing a complaint to gain control over the domain names with the U.S. National Arbitration Forum in May, Microsoft eventually won.

Just 10 minutes after the election of Pope Francis in March, over 100 domain names using keywords such as Pope, Francis, Bergoglio and Habemus Papam, were registered with Go Daddy.com. Over 450 domain names were registered within the first hour – presumably with the hopes that someone would pay big bucks for a Pope-related domain.

But cybersquatters don’t only cause headaches for big companies; securing a domain can send small business owners down a costly legal path.

Katerina Braverman knows this path all too well. Her former business partner purchased the domain for their candy table business through domain name registration service GoDaddy. The pair mutually parted ways last winter, but Braverman did not have the domain transferred to her name, believing it was a long, time-consuming process.

Instead, Braverman’s former partner gave her administrative access to the domain. But last week, something changed.

“When I had gone to log into the GoDaddy account and go to change where the domain is pointed to I realized that she had removed my admin rights to that domain,” Braverman told Global News.

After sending multiple emails, Braverman eventually received a response from her former partner explaining that she had redirected Braverman’s website to her own website – a direct competitor – and told Braverman to get her own domain name.

“I was rightfully upset,” explained Braverman.

“She thinks that because she owns it she can do whatever she wants with it. Yes, she owns it and there is no way that I can make her give it to me, which is fine; however, what I need her to do is stop directing it to her own website as it’s a direct competitor of my business.”

Braverman’s website was still being redirected to her competitors web address at time of publishing.

Read More: Manitoba man sues former tenant for purchasing business domain names

No ideal solution

“I would love to keep this out of court – I don’t want to go there, nor do I have the money to spend on this right now,” said Braverman of her case.

“I am trying to build my business, I have only been around for about a year – it’s not like money is flowing.”

Braverman notes that her lawyer says she will not be able to force the other party to hand over the domain name, but she still hopes to buy it for a reasonable price in order to keep the issue out of court.

In the meantime, she has been forced to contact her current clients and put a statement on her Facebook page advising customers that her website has been “hijacked.”

She has since purchased the .ca version of the domain and has been working to get another site up and running.

GoDaddy says domain disputes are common, but that it is unable to intervene until court action is taken.

Laurie Anderson, director of domain services at Go Daddy, said that as an ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) accredited registrar, the company must adhere to ICANN policy which states that, “in the case of a domain dispute the registrar is not in a position to determine which party has rights to the domain name and the registrar is not a party to the dispute.”

She said that if the issue is brought to court, the domain can be locked pending an outcome to the case (meaning the domain still works, it just can’t expire, be transferred or be cancelled).

“Once we receive a decision, GoDaddy will implement that decision per the direction of the court,” she said.

Read the fine print

While Braverman’s fight for her domain continues, she said she’s learned a lesson.

“Now that I think about it I should have pushed harder to have the domain transferred – business is business – but I never expected this to happen,” she said.

“I wasn’t educated on how everything works and I think it’s one of those things that a lot of the time gets put into fine print. It’s something that people don’t read and just click accept and move on just because we think our time is much more precious than to spend on legalities, when in the end it could end up biting you.”

In doing research about domain name disputes Braverman suggests that  business owners look into buying all of the domain suffixes they think they might need in the future to avoid any issues.

Domain name providers usually offer users to purchase their domains in bundles, so business owners can buy .com, .ca (if they are a Canadian-based business), .net, or any other suffix they wish to secure.